Showtime’s ‘The Borgias’ Not Likely To Do Season 4, Might Wrap With Two-Hour Movie

Showtime’s ‘The Borgias’ Not Likely To Do Season 4, Might Wrap With Two-Hour Movie

I hear that there is a strong possibility the current third season of Showtime‘s Borgias is the papal drama’s last as a regular series. No final decisions have been made, with Showtime brass expected to wait until Season 3 ends its run, but I hear the drama, created by Neil Jordan, is considering wrapping its story with a two-hour movie.

The Borgias producers originally envisioned the series starring Jeremy Irons as the cunning Pope Alexander VI as going for four seasons, matching the run of Showtime predecessor The Tudors. But during the recent launch campaign for Season 3, Jordan indicated that he had changed plans. “I would like to finish it with a two-hour movie,” he told the British press. “Another 10 episodes is kind of exhausting. I’ve mapped out a movie, which, if (Showtime brass) agree, will shoot in June with the same cast, and finally the Pope will die horribly.” I hear at the moment Showtime toppers are leaning toward not doing a fourth season of Borgias, though that may change as the series is gaining ratings momentum, The 10-episode third season launched on Showtime last month to 582,000 viewers, down slightly (4%) from the 2012 second season opener. But the most recent Episode 3 drew the biggest audience (674,000 viewers) and largest total night viewership (918,000) of the season. Some continuation of Borgias beyond Season 3 would be in line with Showtime entertainment president David Nevins’ philosophy of giving series proper ending. “It’s really important to me that our audience feels taken care of,” he said in January, indicating that bringing Big C back for a final installment as a limited series was part of that strategy. Jordan serves as writer and director of and executive produces the Canadian-Irish-Hungarian Treaty co-production.